Table 2.
Variation of body length and intestine length (in millimeters) during larval development within Ceratophryids
| Species | Stage | n | Body Length (BL) | Hind Gut Length (HGL) | HGL/BL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chacophrys pierottii | Limb bud | 5 | 9,22 (±0.53) | 95.64 (±15.61) | ≈ 10 |
| Limb growth | 5a | 25.43 (±1.84) | 305.58 (±92.5) | ≈ 12 | |
| 5b | 38.25 (±4.28) | 633.6 (±196.72) | ≈ 16.56 | ||
| Metamorphosis | 3a | 23.84 (±3.20) | 172.88 (±67.47) | ≈ 7.4 | |
| 3b | 36.51 (±1.73) | 120.06 (±75.62) | ≈ 3.2 | ||
| Ceratophrys cranwelli | Limb bud | 6 | 11.73 (±1.40) | 51.39 (±10.05) | ≈ 4.5 |
| Limb growth | 6 | 23.80 (±1.45) | 81.94 (±8.4) | ≈ 3.5 | |
| Metamorphosis | 2 | 28.77 | 52.5 | ≈ 1.8 | |
| Lepidobatrachus llanensis | Limb bud | 5 | 13.36 (±1.12) | 33.89 (±3.34) | ≈2 |
| Limb growth | 10 | 25.062 (±5.17) | 51.83 (±14.80) | ≈2 | |
| Metamorphosis | 10 | 40.26 (±4.8) | 118.55 (±22.86) | ≈ 2.9 | |
| Lepidobatracus laevis | Limb bud | 6 | 13.85 (±2.61) | 27.05 (± 4.80) | ≈ 2 |
| Limb growth | 15 | 37.38 (±6.11) | 102.59 (± 30.64) | ≈ 2.7 | |
| Metamorphosis | 17 | 46.17 (±4.06) | 131.65 (±17.30) | ≈ 2.85 |
In Chacophrys pierotti, super index (a) refers to small tadpoles and super index (b) to large tadpoles. Length of intestine was measure between the pyloric loop and end of the intestine into the vent tube/cloaca. Before the metamorphosis, the intestine is very large in Chacophrys pierottii, short in Ceratophrys cranwelli and very short in Lepidobatrachus spp. During metamorphosis, the intestine shortens abruptly in Chacophrys and Ceratophrys whereas it conserves its larval length in Lepidobatrachus spp